ESPN Layoffs: Jeff Van Gundy Reportedly Among High-Profile Cuts

Friday looks like it’s going to be a dark day in the history of ESPN, with the worldwide leader in sports reportedly set to lay off a number of high-profile on-camera employees.

Front Office Sports reports “roughly” 20 on-air personalities will lose their jobs Friday. Among those, according to the New York Post, are NBA color commentator Jeff Van Gundy and NBA studio analyst Jalen Rose.

While it seems like just about no one is safe right now in Bristol, the Van Gundy news is a bit of a stunner. The former NBA coach was one of the lead analysts for coverage on both ESPN and ABC. The three-man booth of Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and play-by-play man Mike Breen was one of the most respected in sports, in large part because of Van Gundy’s opinionated approach to the job. According to the Post report, JJ Redick, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson are the most likely internal candidates to replace Van Gundy on the network’s top NBA call.

Obviously, per the Front Office Sports report, the cuts are far from done — or at least aren’t public yet. According to that same report, ESPN’s NFL talent will also take a hit.

“Some big legacy names are going to be moving on,” a source told the site. “Their NFL is going to look different next year.”

The layoffs themselves don’t come as a surprise. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, is in the midst of cutting thousands of jobs, and the network completed a round of behind-the-scenes cuts in April.